STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- The city Police Department's controversial stop and frisk policies have been given a boost by a legal memo indicating that it is permissible to use such tactics for people suspected of minor, non-traffic-related offenses, according to Capital New York.

The Advance reported on Monday that the City Council's Black, Latino and Asian Caucus rejects the notion that changes to stop and frisk and other police policies could have contributed to the crime spikes on Staten Island and throughout New York City this year. The Caucus, which includes Councilwoman Debi Rose (D-North Shore), instead calls for more police officers, more funding for anti-gun initiatives and greater involvement of community groups.

The memo, written by an attorney for the city Civilian Complaint Review Board, agrees with searches even when there is no reason to believe that the suspect is carrying a weapon or that the officer is in imminent danger, according to Capital New York.

"New York is relatively clear that a police officer can frisk a suspect pursuant to lawfully issuing a summons for an offense other than a traffic infraction," said Brian Krist, an attorney for the Civilian Complaint Review Board in a Capital New York story.

He explained that while courts have been "relatively clear that officers cannot conduct frisks" for a traffic summons, "a court is likely to determine that a frisk incident to a lawfully-issued summons for a non-traffic violation would be permitted under state and federal law."